Posterous theme by Cory Watilo

Art and Mel | Adventures


our experiences, activities, and interests

fun in the snow!

This coming weekend, we will be hitting Lake Tahoe with friends again! It's almost becoming an annual trip. :)

The Bay Area has been hit with tons of rain recently, so that should be a good sign for us this weekend. I can't relate because San Diego is in the 60s and partly sunny. I definitely will be freezing when I head up north.

I'm excited to see the snow and play in it. We'll be going to Mt. Rose resort. I've never been there but Art has several times already. It'll be fun and good snowboarding practice for me. I gotta try toe-side this time. We'll see how it goes... hehe

Here are some photos from previous trips:

fannette island | emerald bay [19/52] snow bokeh <3 tahoe roads 19/52 snow 20/52 Tahoe Beach snow The head? _DSC0625 frozen fingertips

Looking forward to taking more photos this time! :) We love Lake Tahoe.

our new project: 52 weeks

It's been a long time since we've updated our blog. Recently a group of friends and us have decided to take on a project called 52 weeks. You probably have heard about it through either one of us in some form (twitter, personal blog, facebook, email, etc.). So we won't bore you with the repetitive information again.

If you're interested in following us through the project that will go on for one year, you can do so by checking out our respective Flickr sites:

Melissa's 52 week project

Arthur's 52 week project

Thanks for the support!

Toit Mahobe

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Meet my new roommate! He's Cambodian and very handsome. :)

I got him from the Albany Aquarium. Their fish are very healthy and they have trained the betta fish to eat pellets. I had always wanted to get a betta for some time now but never got around to it. So Art took me to his local fish store and after many contemplations, I finally chose him. Then stopped by Pets Mart to get him his new home and food. Now he swims and lives happily on top of my dresser in my bedroom. 

I decided to name him Toit Mahobe because in Cambodian it means "small food". But I just call him Toit for short. I thought it was ironic and cute. Surprisingly, while doing my research for Cambodian words online, I found that the language, Khmer, wasn't too common. It was actually difficult finding Khmer with English translations. There wasn't any pronunciation keys available either, so I'm not even sure if I'm pronouncing his name correctly.

It's really cool when I put up a mirror and he thinks he sees another betta because he puffs up real big and starts swimming back and forth. I learned that male betta fish cannot live together as they will fight until one dies (I've actually never seen the fish fight before). Female betta fish can live together. You can tell the difference between male and female betta fish by the length of their tails and fins - females are short and males are long. Unlike birds, both male and female betta fish come in many beautiful colors.

furlough week

The end of my work's fiscal year was August 31, 2009. We were scheduled a week long furlough during August 24 - 28. Furlough is forced time off without pay. Although having time off is greatly appreciated; the no pay is quite difficult.

My brother had been wanting to come up to the Bay Area for some time and I thought this would be the perfect time for him. I would be able to spend more time with him and show him around. I also had extra credits left on my Virgin America account and was able to transfer that over to him to use. So I invited my brother and his girlfriend to stay with me for the week. In addition, my mom won a 3 night hotel stay in Vallejo and scheduled her trip during this week as well.

Arthur also helped plan some trips and spent time showing them around too. I was a little nervous because this was my first time being the tour guide without Arthur. Also my first time driving around in San Francisco. Thank goodness for my handy Garmin; otherwise, I would have been one lost girl in the city. This did force me to learn my way around the city better. :)

My plan was to show everyone around the Bay Area but keep it on a low budget. So here was our week's agenda:
  • Saturday 8/22 - Santana Row
  • Sunday 8/23 - San Francisco (Civic Center, Union Square, Yerba Buena Gardens/Metreon, Cable Cars, Pier 39/Fisherman's Wharf, Embarcadero Center/Ferry Building.
  • Monday 8/24 - Lick Observatory, Mt. Hamilton
  • Tuesday 8/25 - Dim Sum, San Francisco Chinatown, Asian Art Museum (Samurai exhibit), Yardbarker HQ, North Beach/Little Italy, Japantown
  • Wednesday 8/26 - Berkeley, UCB campus
  • Thursday 8/27 - Half Moon Bay, Moss Beach
  • Friday 8/28 - Golden Gate Park (Japanese Tea Garden, California Academy of Sciences, Botanical Garden, Stow Lake), Berkeley Marina
  • Saturday 8/29 - Napa
It was a very eventful week and I'm so glad I got to spend time with my family. I even got to explore new areas!

See more of the pictures here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/luvableissa/ (It's taking me some time to process and upload the pictures; so check back every once in a while.)

diana and peter visit

I'm way behind on blogging!

Diana and Peter visited the Bay Area for their first time earlier this month. They came up late Thursday night to get some rest to have a full day on Friday and Saturday. I had furlough Friday, so it worked out for me to spend time with them and show them around. They drove all the way up from La Mirada to my place in San Jose.

It was so much fun taking them around to visit some of the major tourist sites in SF. This was my first time playing tour guide (as I usually let Arthur do it - since he's much better at it than I am). Yes, I was a bit nervous. I didn't want to get us lost! We mapped out our day by using public transportation. I am not comfortable driving around the city yet - and parking on a weekday gets costly! Plus it gave them the full experience of city life through public transportation as well.

Arthur met up with us after work and was able to drive us around and give a good night tour of the cool spots in SF. We also went to eat dinner in North Beach / Little Italy. It's always wonderful having authentic italian dishes right in your own backyard without having travel to Italy. They had great wine and very friendly staff. Good thing I mentioned to Diana to bring some layers and jackets and it gets pretty chilly up here.

Saturday we did the East Bay tour and ate some amazing Chicago-style pizza at Zachary's.Then they went to attend a soccer match at Candlestick while Arthur and I hung out in the Marina.

It was great seeing Diana and Peter and hanging out with them. They're so much fun.

I only have pictures from the night tour as my day pictures didn't come out that well.

Mine: http://www.flickr.com/photos/luvableissa/tags/palaceoffinearts/

Art's: 

first high school wedding

This past weekend, my high school friend got married! She's the first of my group of friends to tie the knot. I don't think it's completely hit me yet. I still say, "I can't believe she's married!"

I'm happy for her and their future together.

It was one hectic weekend for me. I had Relay For Life of Cupertino and got the notice for the wedding about a month prior. I informed my boss and volunteer committee. I arranged my flight to get me down and up to make it on time to all my obligations. Let's just say, I didn't get much sleep. But it was all for the best reasons.

Huge shout out to Regina for picking me up from the airport and waking up at the crack of dawn to take me back on Sunday. I owe you big time!

The wedding was nice and the weather was perfect. It was a short and simple ceremony and the reception was fun. Monica's choice of wedding color theme was very summer-like. Her dress was beautiful. I was seated at Table 1 with the best people in the world. It was such a great reunion - I haven't laughed that hard in so long. I miss my friends.

I took some pictures that evening, but spent most of the time catching up with old friends.

Below are some pictures from the evening. You can also view more here: 

Congratulations Monica and Stephen!
B0c

 

:: 2 years ::

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07.09.09 marks my two year anniversary with American Cancer Society. I just realized this morning while at the ACS CAN Research Breakfast event.

I reflect back on the past two years with The Society and it has been nothing but memorable and to say the least eventful. I've met and made so many valuable friends and learned so much from the organization and the people I work with. Even though it had its ups and downs, I'm grateful for the experience it has given me. I've grown a lot and glad to have many supporters.

To think, I started off as a 1 year grant funded position; which evolved into a permanent position during the reorganization -- only to be eliminated a year later during the RIF (reduction in force). Thankfully ACS offered me something else. And so here I am. Who knows what else is in store for the future!

Northern Italy Pictures

We only stayed in Northern Italy for literally two days because on the third day we left for the airport to fly back home. So we explored the city of Milan and headed up to Lake Como the next day and visited some small towns along the lake.

I unfortunately, did not take as many pictures as I would have liked because I was paranoid about my bag and belongings getting snatched. I've heard all these stories about pick-pocketing and how dangerous it can be on the streets. 

Here is my set for Northern Italy: http://www.flickr.com/photos/luvableissa/sets/72157620470348069/

Art's (this includes pictures from his previous Italy trip): http://www.flickr.com/photos/kinetic/tags/italy/

I loved Italy! I definitely would like to come back and visit. I can see why fashion comes from here, everyone here is so stylish. There is so much history. The villas are gorgeous. Food is delicious!

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